Hair Pattern
4B Hair Care
4B hair has a sharper, more Z-shaped bend than 4A, with less defined curl than 4C. That structure makes it especially sensitive to the moisture-protein balance -- too much of either shows up fast as mushiness or as straw-like dryness, and the fix depends on telling those two apart correctly.
Full guide
4B Hair Care: The Moisture-Protein Balance Explained
Read itThe Z-pattern's core trade-off
4B's sharper, angular bends sit structurally between 4A's more open S-shaped coil and 4C's tightest pattern, which is exactly why it swings between two opposite problems more visibly than either neighbor. Too much moisture without enough protein and the strand goes limp and gummy; too much protein without enough moisture and it turns straw-like and stiff. Both look like 'the routine isn't working,' but they call for opposite fixes.
A quick way to tell which side is off
Take a single strand when it's damp and gently stretch it. If it stretches a lot, feels mushy, and doesn't spring back, that's a sign of too much moisture relative to protein. If it feels stiff, straw-like, and snaps rather than stretching, that points to too much protein or simple dryness. Adjusting the next wash day toward whichever side is actually off -- rather than adding more of everything -- is what actually resolves it.